Publications by authors named "Mara Silvia Pinheiro Arruda"

Several species of the genus are used by Amazonian indigenous communities to treat injuries, pain and inflammations, which is directly related to the presence of phenolic compounds in these species. Many studies have addressed the phytochemical relevance of this genus, but they are still few considering the large number of species. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the chemical composition of leaves in order to find compounds with potential pharmacological application and economic interest.

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Spray-dried extracts are prepared as powders or granules after solvent removal, which can be obtained in the presence or absence of pharmaceutical adjuvants. This work aimed to optimize the process of obtaining dried extracts of Peperomia pellucida L. (HBK) by spray drying.

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The main challenge of plant chemical diversity exploration is how to develop tools to study exhaustively plant tissues. Their sustainable sourcing is a limitation as bioguided strategies and dereplication need quite large amounts of plant material. We examine if alternative solutions could overcome these difficulties by obtaining a secure, sustainable, and scalable source of tissues able to biosynthesize an array of metabolites.

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Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major public health concern representing about 60% of S. aureus isolated from hospitalized patients in countries such as USA and Brazil in the last years. Additionally, the ability to adhere to surfaces and the development of biofilms are important properties of pathogenic bacteria involved in medical device-associated infections, and staphylococci are recognized as the major etiologic agents in these situations.

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Pathogenic species of mycobacteria are known to use the host cholesterol during lung infection as an alternative source of carbon and energy. Mycobacteria culture in minimal medium (MM) has been used as an experimental model to study the consumption of exogenous cholesterol. Once in MM, different species of mycobacteria start to consume the cholesterol and initiate transcriptional and metabolic adaptations, upregulating the enzymes of the methylcitrate cycle (MCC) and accumulating a variety of primary metabolites that are known to be important substrates for cell wall biosynthesis.

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Massive lysis of tumor mass in cancer patients under chemotherapy regimens generates high levels of uric acid, leading to what is known as tumor lysis syndrome (TLS). Rasburicase, a recombinant urate oxidase, converts urate to allantoin, which is readily excreted by the kidneys. Even though there is a high production of allantoin from urate in cancer patients following rasburicase treatment, there are no studies on how allantoin excess could interfere with chemotherapy.

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Processing of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) beans responsible for agricultural exports leads to large amounts of solid waste that were discarded, however, this one presents high contents of metabolites with biological activities. The major objective of this study was to valorise cocoa agroindustrial residue obtained by hydraulic pressing for extract rich in antioxidants.

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The present work aimed to investigate the vasorelaxant effect of isotirumalin, a dihydroflavonol isolated from Derris urucu (Leguminosae). The vasorelaxant effect of isotirumalin was investigated in the rat aorta, in the presence and in the absence of a functional endothelium. The production of nitric oxide (NO) induced by isotirumalin was measured simultaneously with its vasorelaxation using carbon microsensors.

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Species of Swietenia elaborate limonoid chemistry along only one route, which leads to the mexicanolide type in most species and the phragmalin type in S. mahogani. A hexane extract from leaves of S.

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